As Centre Wellington grows, councillors here are giving serious thought about whether council should grow as well.
As part of the Jan. 24 operating budget discussions, councillor Fred Morris suggested that as the community grows, the level of expertise amongst councillors will need to grow in order to keep up.
He said, “I’m not sure that with this level of wages and benefits – along with allocations for conferences, training and communications – that you are going to attract the kind of people that may be required as we grow and the municipality continues to grow and become a more complicated place in which to do business.”
Morris stressed he was not trying to justify a raise for council, but rather assess the impact of community growth at the council table.
Councillor Stephen Kitras said, “I think that in business, when you are growing is when you are doing all the work … making the decisive decisions.”
Kitras said the issue is very important for council to address and “the mayor’s position is vastly underpaid for the amount of responsibilities required for that position.”
He explained the position is essentially that of a CEO for $28,000, which he said is unbelievably low.
Kitras contended the pay for serving on Wellington County council – “is not a supplement … it is another job.”
Kitras added the community is facing difficulty even getting people to run for council because “it is serious work.”
Councillor Mary Lloyd agreed it is an issue that should be discussed. She added growth throughout Centre Wellington is not evenly distributed.
Lloyd noted there is the potential of 300 to 400 homes in one specific area and changes like that could create dramatic shifts in the number of residents a councillor represents.
She asked if it was time to consider whether the number of representatives (at council) should go up.
Another option to think about might be moving away from the ward system to one where councillors represent the entire community.
“At what time do we suggest the need for more council representatives?” Lloyd asked.
Councillor Kirk McElwain said while there may be a need for more councillors in the coming years, he favoured ward realignments rather than electing “at large” positions.
McElwain said he believes ward councillors tend to have a better feel for the area they represent. As for salaries, he said, “I don’t think any of us are here with the expectation of getting rich.”
Instead, he said, council members are at the table to give back to the community.
“On the other hand, the amount of time required is increasing every year,” McElwain said.
“I think we have to re-look at how we are spread out and what the job definition is.”
Mayor Kelly Linton said “we are at that point as a municipality where we have to have that discussion.
“We are growing and have to look at something comparative and at what other municipalities do when they reach this growth rate. It all comes to the governance of a growing township which is becoming a small city.”
Morris said another issue is, “There are some issues which require more discussion – than time allows us to have.
“Because council acts as a policy making board, we need to have adequate time to formulate those policies.
“I think it is time to review the way we operate as a council.” McElwain added he believed some opportunity to fully discuss items has been lost.
“Council needs a better opportunity to know what changes were made and why.”
